Concrete gun



March 1927' R. c. HACKLEY CONCRETE GUN Filed March 26. 1924 a m 0m M y W C W cm F W M Y 0%, MN M A T TDRNEYS.

Patented M ar. 1, 1927.

FICE.

ROY C. HACKL EY, OF SAN FRANCISCO; CALIFORNIA.

' CONCRETE GUN.

Application filed March 26, 1924. Serial No. 702,056.

This invention relates to compressed air mechanism for handling concrete and similar materials, generally referred to as concrete guns j The object of the invention is to facilitate the dispatch of concrete and like plastic materials to inaccessible and comparatively distant points, such as is required in .the building of long tunnels or tall buildings.

In carrying out this object, I provide an air-tight container for the concrete, preferably in the form of a horizontally-disposed tank terminating at one end in a nozzle and having means disposed at intervals along the bottom of the tank for admitting compressed air, whereby to expel the concrete from the tank and -discharge it through the nozzle and out through an extended pipe or conduit to the place of use.

One form which my invention may assume is exemplified in the following description and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 shows a side elevation partly in section, of a device embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 shows a front end view of the same;

Fig. 3 shows the outer end of the discharge pipe, with a distributing box thereon;

Fig. 4 shows an end view of the parts illustrated in Fig. 3.

The device of the present invention embodies a container C in the form of a horizontally disposed tank, which is preferably egg-shaped in cross-section, with the narrow portion disposed downwardly. In the top of the tank is a filling opening adapted to be closed by a-cover 30. The forward end of the tank is provided with a tapered nozzle 31 terminating in a flange 32, the latter adapted to receive a discharge pipe such as indicated at D in Fig. 3.

An air supply pipe 10 with a'suitable con trol valve 11 is provided, and this has several branches, 14, 15, 16, and 17, each controlled by a quick-acting valve. These several branches lead through therear head of the tank and extend. along the bottom thereof, terminating at different points therein. The pipe 14 terminates near the nozzle, 31 and pipes 15 and 16 terminate at different points intermediate the ends of the tank, and the pipe 17 terminates adjacent the rear end.

Pipe 14 insures that pressure shall always be present adjacent the nozzle, to direct the concrete into the discharge pipe. The remaining pipes serve to advance the body of concrete along the bottom of the tank until the tank is completely emptied.

In the operation of the device, the tank is filled with concrete suitably mixed in advance, the filling being done through the opening in the top of the tank. This opening is then closed by the lid 30, and air is admitted through the supply pipe 10 to the branch pipes. By reason of the separate controls for each of the branch pipes, any one or all of these pipes may be cut in or out, as desired. At the outset it may be necessary only to use the pipe 14, until the concrete near the nozzle is discharged, whereupon the pipe 15 can be turned on, and thereafter the remaining pipes in succession, until the tank is entirely empty.

In the present arrangement, the tank need not be constructed in any great height, owing to the fact that sufficient capacity can be afforded by lengthening the tank. There is no need for maintaining any air pressure on top of the body of the concrete. Hence, with the present apparatus, the concrete does not tend to pack or bridge around the nozzle, as is the case where vertical tanks are used. The mass of concrete which any one air stream is compelled to move is relatively small and unpacked, and therefore the device operates quickly and easily and without danger of becoming clogged.

In Figs. 3 and 4 I show a distributor-box comprising an elongated, horizontally disposed enclosed container for the reception of concrete, a discharge nozzle adjacent the bottom and at one end thereof, said nozzle being substantially cone shaped, a discharge dos conduit leading from the small and of the nozzle, a compressed air delivery pipe terminating in the large endof the nozzle and adapted to apply air pressure and velocity to concrete in the nozzle and to eject the con-- crete from the nozzle into and through the conduit, and a plurality of compressed air delivering pipes extending through the container and disposed in the bottom thereof and terminating at different points intermediate the nozzle and the discharge end of the container to move the concrete in successive portions towards and into the nozzle.

2. An apparatus for conveying plastic material such as concrete, comprising a horizontally disposed container to receive plastic material, a dischargenozzle at one end of said container, near the bottom thereof, and means disposed at intervals along the length of said container, near the bottom thereof, for admittin compressed air to move the plastic material towards the discharge nozzle.

ROY C. HACKLEY. 

